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Thursday, March 27, 2008

In which Pippi learns what a coke machine is...

I appreciate the many prayers and well wishes we've received from so many of you this past month. Thank you! We've been busy with school lessons and trying to get into our new home. We hope to close on the house tomorrow. It looks as if we will be very busy cleaning and moving in over the next few weeks so you may not hear from us for awhile. We are still living out of one suitcase each so I am more than ready to get settled. I still don't feel as if our move is permanent. It's a strange feeling being back but all the friendly American faces have made it easier.

I took my children to the local library yesterday. They have never been to one before, mind you. I thought they needed the cultural experience, don't you think so? They enjoyed all the free books, especially my youngest son. I see that we've come a long way from bulky card catalog drawers. Pippi, my 9yr old, was fascinated with the coke machines outside of grocery stores. She watched with wonder as people put money into a box and out dropped a can of soda. "Mom, how did they do that?" She was thrilled when I let her try it herself!

I had to get a new driver's license since I didn't drive in Turkey (dangerous!) for 12 years. It was an all day affair taking the written test and then waiting in line to take a driving test with about 60 sixteen year olds. But it sure is nice being able to drive again.

And did I tell you that Half Price bookstore is a good deal richer due to my last visit? I love that place!

15 comments:

This is great! What blessing to have the library again. And how much we as Americans take for granted. I am sure though that there are some aspects of American culture that are better left undiscovered! Enjoy getting settled. I look forward to reading about your adjustments.Melissa

The excitement of discovering all these things for the first time! The library... we forget what a blessing they are. Ours is wonderful, and fully computer automated. I do admit I miss the "bulky card catalog drawers" and the machine the librarian used to mark each card individually with the due date.

When you get settled, I'd love to hear how you did with getting school done during this busy time. I'm struggling right now with managing to get things done with the curve balls life throws. Nothing major, just... life!

Aren't books just the most marvelous things? When we spent time in Africa we saw that the kids had no library at the orphanage we were working at, so we raised money to send them all kinds of books.

Last time we got back there, one of our dear little 12-year-old friends was reading the Narnia series. What an amazing window into the world books opened for her!

I think we forget how blessed we are in North America just with these simple things. Perhaps if we could spread libraries more around the developing world, they would develop a little quicker--and better!

Actually, there are libraries in Turkey and pop machines and ATMs and many other things you'd find in the States and elsewhere in the world. It's in the smaller villages that these may not exist... but those villages would have to be pretty small not to have these.

In fact, Turkey is full of historic library sites... there were libraries in Turkey well before they existed in the States.

Oh, I think we're all fine without the coke machines anyway :) but libraries are important and I just wanted to make sure your readers were aware that they do indeed exist, especially since I read the "horror" some expressed.

Etsy

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